The University of Detroit Mercy School of Law is the law school of the University of Detroit Mercy and is located in Downtown Detroit, Michigan across from the Renaissance Center. Founded in 1912, Detroit Mercy Law is a private Roman Catholic law school and has been ABA-accredited since 1933.[2] The Law School has an annual enrollment of about 536 students and currently has 88 faculty members (28 full-time, 60 adjunct).

Detroit Mercy Law offers full-time, part-time and extended part-time JD programs as well as a number of dual degrees, including a J.D./M.B.A. and Dual J.D. program.[3] In 2009, the Law School admitted about 45 percent of its 1,707 full-time applicants and about 40 percent of its 219 part-time applicants.[4] The Law School's JD 2016 entering class had a median LSAT of 151 and a median GPA of 3.15 and a median LSAT of 155 and a median GPA of 33.12 for Dual JD students. In January 2012, Detroit Mercy Law purchased a 6,000 sq. ft. facility across the street from its campus which will house the numerous clinics operated by the school.

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Detroit Mercy Law was founded as the University of Detroit Law School in 1912 (the University of Detroit merged with Mercy College of Detroit in 1990 to become the University of Detroit Mercy). It is the oldest and most prestigious private law school in Michigan and it shares the Jesuit and Mercy tradition of value oriented education.[5] The historic Renaissance-style campus is located between East Jefferson Avenue and East Larned Street just north of I-375 and is within a short walking distance to the Renaissance Center and numerous state and federal government buildings, including the Third Judicial Circuit Court (Wayne County) and the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan among others.

Detroit Mercy Law has been growing in prominence over the years, maintaining a solid reputation among legal professionals around the Detroit Metro area and in many circles around the country as well.

According to Detroit Mercy Law's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 31.8% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.[6] Detroit Mercy Law School Transparency under-employment score is 37.9%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2013 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.[7]

Detroit Mercy Law maintains a core first-year curriculum, consisting of Contracts, Civil Procedure, Property, Torts, Criminal Law, Introduction to Legal Research and Communication and Applied Legal Theory and Analysis (ALTA). Other required courses include Constitutional Law, Evidence, Federal Income Taxation, and Professional Responsibility.[10]

The School is proud of its clinical program, which is one of only a few required clinical programs in the country. Founded initially as the Urban Law Clinic in 1965, it was among the earliest clinics in the nation. Since that time, the program has flourished receiving numerous awards including the ABA Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access with Meritorious Recognition in 2012 and the ABA Law Student Division’s Judy M. Weightman Memorial Public Interest Award in 2006. Students attend weekly classes that focus on the relevant skills and substantive law and all clinics provide for meaningful guided reflection.

The Law School's main academic publication is the University of Detroit Mercy Law Review, having contributed to the legal scholarship of the state of Michigan and the nation since 1916. This student-led organization publishes four issues a year and hosts an annual symposium in the spring to discuss topics of developing legal significance and scholarly debate. Within the last ten years, Detroit Mercy Law Review articles have been cited in the opinions of the United States Supreme Court, United States Circuit Courts of Appeals, and many state supreme courts (including Michigan).[11]

The School of Law hosts both an internal trial and appellate moot court competition annually known as the G. Mennen Williams Moot Court Competition. The school's Moot Court Team competes nationally and has had success both at the regional and national level: it was the National Champion for the 2009 National Invitational Appellate Moot Court Competition and the 2008 McGee Civil Rights National Moot Court Competition:[12]